Europe is still spending its way back to health

Shoppers buy vegetables at a green market on January 17, 2015 in Athens, Greece.MIlos Bicanski/Getty Images
Europe's recovery continues to be driven by people spending spare cash at the shops.

Eurostat latest retail sales figures show growth beat expectations last month, as retail sales grew by 2.2% in May compared to the same time last year. That's higher than the 2% rise economists had forecast.

May's sales figure was also 0.7% higher than the previous month's. April saw a 0.6% month-on-month fall in sales.